Egg Rock
Location, History, and Legends

Location

Egg
Rock sits in the Atlantic Ocean about two miles out from
Lynn Beach on the Swampscott side of Nahant. Egg Rock covers
three acres, is about 750 feet long and 200 feet wide, and is
over 80 feet above sea level at its summit. Egg Rock can be
easily seen from the Lynnway and the Nahant Causeway. It was
first called Bird's Egg Rock because seagulls laid their eggs
there. Poetry about Egg Rock characterizes the rock as a solid,
stable, everlasting presence in the harbor, able to survive
turbulent waves and weather.

History

The
History of Egg Rock is the story of its lighthouse,
which was built on Egg Rock in 1855 to help Swampscott fisherman
sail safely in and out of port. Lynn poet and historian Alonzo
Lewis was instrumental in establishing the lighthouse on Egg
Rock. In 1897, a fire destroyed the first lighthouse and a new
one was built. In 1906, a landing
stage was constructed to solve the often dangerous problem
of landing a boat on Egg Rock. Winches and a hoist actually
lifted the boat out of the water and raised it to a platform.
In 1922, use of the light was discontinued, and the lighthouse
was sold for five dollars. While the new owner was trying to
transport it off Egg Rock, it slid into the sea and was destroyed.
Today, Egg Rock is a bird
sanctuary, due to the mid-twentieth century efforts of Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge.

Legends

The
legendary stories about Egg Rock have to do with its lighthouse
keepers. The first, George Taylor, had a legendary dog named
Milo. Swampscott
fishermen would sometimes tie two or three codfish to sticks
and toss the bundle overboard for Milo to fetch. Milo would
swim out from Egg Rock, sometimes as far as a mile, retrieve
the bundle, and swim back with it. During foggy weather, when
visibility was limited, Milo would bark warnings to fishermen
from Egg Rock.

Milo was most famous for rescuing several children
from the waters near Egg Rock. "Saved",
a painting by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, depicts Milo standing
over a recently saved child. This image of Milo proved so powerful
that it became well known throughout America in the nineteenth
century.

The second lighthouse keeper, Thomas Widger, made
a legendary trip to Nahant in a storm while his wife was about
to deliver their third child. Widger picked up a midwife in
Nahant, but his boat capsized as they set out for Egg Rock and
the midwife refused to continue. Widger made it back to Egg
Rock, landed the boat in heavy weather, and was on time for
the baby's birth!

One fascinating legend about Egg Rock has a dubious
origin. During the 1860's or 1870's, an unidentified lighthouse
keeper was thought to have signaled to shore that his wife had
died. Because of bad weather, he was forced to stay on Egg Rock
with the body, which he put in a kind of cold storage. Months
later, the weather improved and he brought his wife to Nahant
for proper burial. Before returning to Egg Rock, the lighthouse
keeper found and married a second wife, who went back to Egg
Rock with him. Charming as it is, there is some doubt about
the authenticity of this legend.